Tastes

The third in Whipper Snappers Wheat Belt series this is the single malt. Whipper Snapper was founded in 2013 and has been consistently turning out their upshot, bourbon-esque corn whisky along with various smaller batches. All perfectly reasonable. Now though, they bring their unique Upshot character to barley and a single malt. Here, Whipper Snapper have sourced a barley variety known as “Spartacus” from the Nyoongar boodja Wheatbelt region, malted it in the warehouse on the edge of the Perth CBD, and aged the whisky for four years in ex-Upshot barrels (themselves virgin American oak). I am informed that WS use open-top fermentation to allow for warmer fermentation and subsequently a more fruit-forward character and ester depth are pulled from the barley. The WS hybrid column still is configured to run four plates, cutting hearts at 30% ABV for only the best hearts spirit and a savoury, fruity, oily single malt distillate at an overall average ABV of 63%. N: Strong gristy barley with plenty of brown sugar and dark honey. Some rough ethanol notes are found around the edges and I feel they get in the way of some brighter florals and orchard profiles. P: Slightly oily but soft palate. Certainly barely forward with caramels and vanilla building on the barely sugar main profile. Light pear juice, cinnamon and nutmeg spices. F: Short. Initially slightly leathery or darkly woody, but quickly fading out through tannic spice and toffee creaminess. I’m surprised, again. Where the Rye from the wheatbelt series surprised me for being unexpectedly excellent, this single malt has surprised me for being (1) perfectly fine as a new to the scene single malt, and (2) perfectly forgettable. For all the importance of terroir and authenticity of locally grown grain that the wheatbelt series espouses, this whisky in my mind lacks a defining character of its own. I am all for supporting local but at AUD$150 this is competing with the likes of Monkey Shoulder at $63, Glenfiddich 12 at $75, or even The Classic Laddie or Highlighd Park 10 at <$100. There is an endless list of entry level single malts with their own strength of characters that makes it hard to justify this admirable attempt from Whipper Snapper when it sits at such a high price point. Distiller whisky taste #283 [Pictured here with a chunk of local Tamala Limestone. This rock makes up most of the western Australian coastline. The Tamala Limestone is in-fact a sandstone and consisting of wind-blown shell fragments and quartz which accumulated as coastal sand dunes during the middle and late Pleistocene and early Holocene eras (~20,000-10,000 years ago). As a result of a process of sedimentation and water percolating through the shelly sands, the mixture later lithified when the lime content dissolved to cement the grains together. A young rock from Perth seems fitting for this new comer single malt]. Whipper Snapper Running Scores Crazy Uncle Moonshine: 3/5 Crazy Uncle Barrel Aged Moonshine: 3.25/5 Upshot: 3.5/5 Upshot Cask Strength: 3.5/5 Upshot Red Corn: 3.25/5 Project Q: 3.25 Wheat Belt Series Wheat: 3.75/5 Wheat Belt Series Rye: 4.25/5 Wheat Belt Series Single Malt: 2.75/5

It’s been a hot minute. The quest to hit 300 by the end of the year isn’t looking to hot anymore. Still, first whisky since the 8th of July, I have been waiting patiently and hopefully some locally produced goods hit the mark tonight. Whipper Snapper is a very small independantly run distillery just outside the Perth city centre. Starting out producing ‘Upshot’ a cute take on traditional bourbon style whisky they have done well for themselves. Accolades, for what they’re worth, have been given by the World Whisky Awards for their grain whiskies, both Wheat and Rye now have won the top gong in their categories. The wheat belt series that includes Wheat, Rye, and now a Single Malt Barley are intended to showcase the heritage of Western Australian farmers and premium grain provenance. Born from Whipper Snappers connection to the Western Australian Wheatbelt Rye in this liquid comes from the Fuchsbichlers. The family farmers, originally from Emmering in Bavaria, grow a unique heirloom German Rye. Now into the fourth generation of growers, the Fuchsbichlers continue to grow the heritage rye first planted in 1911. Whipper Snappers rye whiskey has a high ratio of rye at 85% (with 15% malted barely) believing it to be a true reflection of the Western Australian environment and the heritage of the 100 + year-old grain. The whisky was aged for 4+ years in charred, virgin American Oak barrels. N: Thick, oozing rye spice with clove, cardamon, molasses, dark cherry and citrus zest. Menthol quality comes out the longer I sit with it. P: Medium body that gains presence through the palate. Star anise, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, buttery caramel, soft vanilla. Fresh crisp and juicy stone fruit and apple bring some brightness. F: Long. Ginger and heavily perfumed cardamon just stick around beyond what should be considered reasonable. Slightly oily and perhaps the vaguest notion of a whisper of salt? Whatever is there, this just keeps lasting… I am pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a spicy bomb of a rye, indeed that is definitely here. What I wasn’t expecting though was bright and softening influences of virgin wood that added creaminess through vanilla and buttery caramel. Nor was I expecting the juicy crunch of fresh fruit. I certainly didnt expect myself to be thinking that this is on par with Archie Roses Rye. In some respects Whipper Snappers is easier to sink into and more ‘enjoyable’ but its also maybe with a little roughness in the endless spice and with just a touch of thinness of palate that you could quibble over. This is still excellent though, and with a nice touch of ‘terroir’ and authenticity about it. Distiller whisky taste #282 [Pictured here with a Toodyay Quartzite. Toodyay is a town about 85 km east of Perth in the Wheatbelt Region of Western Australia. This Quartzite is a well known rock in Perth, being used as dimension and flagging stones across the city. The rock cleaves into sheets due to the presence of thin green fuchsite mica layers throughout the metamorphosed sandstone (quartzite).] Whipper Snapper Running Scores Crazy Uncle Moonshine: 3/5 Crazy Uncle Barrel Aged Moonshine: 3.25/5 Upshot: 3.5/5 Upshot Cask Strength: 3.5/5 Upshot Red Corn: 3.25/5 Project Q: 3.25 Wheat Belt Series Wheat: 3.75/5 Wheat Belt Series Rye: 4.25/5

The Yamazaki 12, if I understand correctly is a mix of malt matured in American oak puncheon, Spanish oak sherry, peated malt, and the enigmatic Mizunara Oak. I don’t fully understand the difference between the Y12 and this YDR but as far as I can make out the YDR is a Bordeaux Wine and Sherry Cask, with just a splashing of Mizunara Oak as a token gesture. The price point difference would definitely suggest that the expensive Japanese Oak matured malt is not heavily present here. N: Light and bright. Plenty of sherry cask and bordeaux influence with winey dried fruits. Toasty barley, bitter cocoa powder, dark honey. P: Dry, medium body with warm spice. Stewed pear, sharp red berries, big toasty malt and honey in the mid palate and then vanilla, toffee and clove. F: Medium. Peaches, brown sugar, cloves and oak tannins. A slightly floral after tone but not particularly delicate or pretty. Hakushu 12 and Yamazaki 12 are unquestionably delicious whiskies and have so much to offer. But the AUD$450 price is in a word; ludicrous. Enter the Distiller Reserves. At around 1/3 of the price the DRs are supposed to be approachable representations of their fully aged counterparts. For Hakushu, the DR is a close counterpart. For Yamazaki, the DR is in my opinion a pale imitation. Complexity, depth, texture, delicacy; all are subdued or missing. If I didn’t know of the Y12 the DR still isn’t great, just the intriguing side of good. If you can’t afford the Y12, I would take a pass on this YDR. Distiller whisky taste #281 [Pictured here with a lump of Adamite on a limonite-gossan from Ojuela Mine, Mexico. Adamite is a zinc arsenate hydroxide mineral that is found in the oxidised zones above zinc ore deposits or in arsenic-bearing hydrothermal mineral zones. Pure adamite is colourless but it is most often seen with a yellow colour due to iron replacing zinc in the crystal structure.]

The Japanese whisky scene is an odd one; and for the few I’ve tried I haven’t fully been pulled into the obsession. Not least of all for the extreme price tag attached to them. That said the Hakushu 12 was lovely albeit AUD$450; but the Hakushu Distillers Reserve at a fraction of the cost (AUD$160) was really quite good too. The opportunity presented itself for me to try the Yamazaki 12 again (AUD$470) and for the first time the Yamazaki distillers reserve (AUD$170). N: Heavy and thick. An oily nose that speaks of leather and furniture polish, malt is dark and richly honied. The malt carries with it just the faintest hint of tannic spice but then I think I’m being deceived as there is a subtle smoky-peaty note here I swear. The overriding notes though are from the sherry cask, dried fruits for days. P: juicy fullness and an oily gently astringency, lovely texture. Cinnamon and wood spice open the charge, before letting go loose a cascade of rich dark honied barley, creamy toffee, savoury vanilla. Brightness comes from berries and sultana. I think a vague salinity and smoke note may be working its way out. F: Medium. Creamy exit texture with warm tannic spices (clove and pepper?), very perfumed with cedar and maybe some citrus oils. This is so much more interesting and flavourful than I remember. Or perhaps I am now, 245 considered tastes further on, better able to work with this whisky. This is so well made; a testament to Japanese craftsmanship. The three wood styles (American, Spanish, Japanese) blend so well together. Fruits and sweetness from Spain and sherry; excellent spice and vanillin’s from what I assume is the American, and just fantastic creaminess and perfumed final notes from the rarified Mizanura oak. Beautiful stuff; but, at the price, I’d rather get almost myriad of different malts. [Pictured here with a A chunk of ~40 million year old massive realgar-orpiment from Goldstrike Mine, Nevada. These two minerals are arsenic sulphides common to hot springs, fumeroles and associated with some gold deposits. Orpiment and realgar have been used for centuries, traded extensively throughout the Roman Empire as pigments and by the ancient Chinese who used them as medicine (sheesh!). The Spanish also have a history of using them as rat poisons during the 16th century plagues. Historically orpiment was used as arrow tip poison and realgar is used today in some torpedoes as it makes a powerful contact explosive when mixed with potassium chlorate.] *** Original tasting from 3rd July 2022 N: oily, bright citrus freshness, tropical and stone fruits P: Punchy spice, buttery with honey and vanilla, slight citrus sweetness F: soft and delicate, creamy wood notes. Beautifully well rounded and balanced. However, the flavour profile possibly isn’t as developed as I would expect for $450. Distiller whisky taste #35

Smoky wedding is the stand out so far from five Furneaux Distillery liquids. To finish then, this sixth tasting is from one of only 180 bottles of a distillers cut of the Smoky Wedding bottled at a higher ABV of 58%. “When crafting our latest bottling of Smoky Wedding Single Malt, we faced a delightful dilemma: eight mature 50-litre American Oak Ex Bourbon casks. Among them, two stood out.” N: Not as deep as the regular smoky wedding and a little harsh from the higher ABV. The biscuity malt is there but it is slightly toastier and with more butter. White fruits are much more peachy now and the peat is more apparent as a heavier dampness. Some of the brine is lost and the lighter floral note is all but gone I think. P: astringent, warm, nutty again but with a fuller body. Everything has been dialled up, the tannic spice is much more apparent and the barley is much weightier, almost meaty. Metallic mineralic brine is back and helps bring out the toasty buttery malt along with wood spice. Juicy fruit is again, more peachy now but also creamy, peach cream soda maybe?. I think a little of the delicacy and nuance of the two peats is lost at the higher ABV, there isn’t the same contrast of darker heavier Scotland and lighter perfumed Tasmania. F: Long. Plenty of wood spice, cool briny ash, beach pebbles, and a heavy oily texture remains. “unadulterated by the addition of water. Just a touch of dilution brought out the best rich and buttery profile of this whisky” The distillers were not wrong. The higher ABV definitely showed off the buttery side of things. But at great detriment to all the glorious delicacy of the Tasmanian peat and carefully cut distillate. Yeah; this is perfectly fine; it’s a heavy malt forward and nicely peated island/Islay type of dram; but distillers cuts are supposed to be special, and additive. This higher proof distillers cut is a disservice to the elegance that I think Furneaux nailed the first time round. Final Furneaux thoughts? They seem to be doing things the right way and have a great sense of terroir and story telling. If they take their time and settle on some core, repeat, caskings and bottlings then a serious contender will rise from the antipodes. Distiller whisky taste #280 [Pictured here with as good a representation of Tasmania as is possible in rock form. This is a lump of dolerite from Mt Wellington just outside the Tassie capital Hobart. This dolerite is a volcanic igneous rock that formed 175 million years ago when Gondwana broke apart. As the continent rifted massive volumes of dolerite magma intruded through the crust to form what is now the largest exposure of dolerite in the world; 30,000 km2 and a volume of 15,000 km3]. Furneaux Distillery Running Scores Flinders Island Peated American Oak Ex-Bourbon: 3.5/5 Flinders Island Peated Double Cask: 3.25/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Double Oak: 2.75/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Refill (Peated) Cask: 4/5 Smoky Wedding Peated Bourbon Cask: 4/5 Smoky Wedding Distillers Cut: 3.75/5

Smoky Wedding is a bit of an experiment it would seem. Furneaux have married together their unique, Tasmanian coastal peat from native vegetation with classic Scottish spagnum moss peat. 50% Joe White pilsner malt peated on Flinders Island with local, coastal peat. 50% Bairds heavily peated Scottish malt. The Flinders Island peat, from lagoons on the east coast of the island is formed from melaleuca, tussocks, and succulent swamp marsh herbs, significantly different to classic Scottish peat. The Furneaux team also peat after malting, in an attempt to impart more subtlety and a softer smoke profile. The Scottish peat is smoked in giant kilns during malting to give the spirit more intensity and developing the iodine and creosote tones. The new male spirit was still made on Flinders Island at Furneaux Distillery and to best capture the phenolic profile the second cut was taken deeper than they do for the Sawyers Bay unpeated runs. The new make was put into 50 l casks. American Oak ex Bourbon (Heaven Hill) sourced from the Tasmanian Cask Company. Just over three years were given to mature. The barrels were decanted and left to breathe before incremental dilutions, aiding the spirit to achieve its best possible balance and texture (apparently). This batch FSPB2 was diluted to 46.2% and 578 bottles released in February 2024. N: A deep and somewhat comforting nose vaguely reminiscent of the darker depths of Islay. The malt is biscuity, lightly floral, and a slightly briny damp vegetal peat presence that trends towards earthy. P: Astringent, warm, nutty and with a medium body. Slightly bitter barley packs a punch but it’s quickly tempered by perfumed juiciness of white fruit (melon? Grape?), damp ashy smoke, and as advertised a growing presence of rubbery medicinal peat. The perfumed note has stayed present throughout and grown bigger over time. A late found toffee and brown sugar on my final sip. F: Long. A little tannic spice and wood shavings, but mostly mineralic briny smoke turns to ash and then perfumed savoury sweetness. I’ll be honest, I thought this would be a bit of a marketing boondoggle. But I am pleasantly surprised. The flavours here are limited, and restrained; dare I say it, even simple. But I think this is delicately wonderful. The growing perfumes and savoury sweetness from the Tasmanian peat and careful distilling have indeed made a smoky wedding that shouldn’t end in divorce. This is a carefully balanced and excellently made liquid that is all about the spirit, the barrel is somewhere in the background but this is a spirit driven whisky if ever I’ve had one. Distiller whisky taste #279 [Pictured here with as good a representation of Tasmania as is possible in rock form. This is a lump of dolerite from Mt Wellington just outside the Tassie capital Hobart. This dolerite is a volcanic igneous rock that formed 175 million years ago when Gondwana broke apart. As the continent rifted massive volumes of dolerite magma intruded through the crust to form what is now the largest exposure of dolerite in the world; 30,000 km2 and a volume of 15,000 km3]. Furneaux Distillery Running Scores Flinders Island Peated American Oak Ex-Bourbon: 3.5/5 Flinders Island Peated Double Cask: 3.25/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Double Oak: 2.75/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Refill (Peated) Cask: 4/5 Smoky Wedding Peated Bourbon Cask: 4/5

Fourth in my Furneaux Distillery Line Up, and second from the Sawyers Bay range I have cask UR1, a special bottling of Sawyers Bay Unpeated Single Malt. In 2020 Furneaux emptied some peated casks and set them aside for refill with unseated spirit. After three years in the Flinders Island Peated Casks 187 bottles were released in May 2024 at 47% ABV N: Light and restrained. A very white fruit (melon, grape, peach, pear) and mild honey driven nose that has a little grassy and slightly musty undertone that does remind me of the vegetal peat smoke in the Flinders drams from yesterday. A bit of generic tannic spice lifts up the back end and perhaps with enough time pondering, some minerality also. P: Full and luscious. A sharp contrast to the previous double oaked Sawyers Bay. This is a warming sensation from cool smoke and briny tar blended with floral and bright malt rich in golden syrup biscuits, oatmeal and bright, sharp ginger-spice. Juicy white fruit keeps things very drinkable. F: Long. Cool smoke, preserved lemon, tar and mineral laden brine offer a lovely depth to the finish. This surprised me. The previous Sawyers Bay was a generic sherry cask that lacked identify. This though, this is clever. The seemingly aggressively early second cut on the newly made spirit has delivered so much fresh, bright, juicy white fruit that the balance of strong malt flavours has been well balanced with a tempered peat that simply put: works. Bright, floral, and novel there is something for everyone in this dram I think. The nose is a little under developed, but meh; no big deal. My concern now is growing for Furneaux. I worry that they are going to get lost in single cask offerings. I do not believe the two Sawyers Bay drams I have had represent the same underlying character, these two were wildly different. I think that is an omen for jumbled decision making in the warehouse and variable bottling that fail to deliver consistency. I would be hesitant to splash out the high cost for one of these bottles not knowing if I was going to find a hero of a bottle or a generic dud. Distiller whisky taste #278 [Pictured here with a chunk of quartzite from Cradle Mountain in the northwes199t of the Tasmanian mainland. This rock was formed from the massive dolerite intrusions that form pretty much 3/4 of Tasmania pushing up through Cambrian (~500 million year old) sediments during the Jurassic and heating them, and recrystallising them into a hard metamorphic rock]. Furneaux Distillery Running Scores Flinders Island Peated American Oak Ex-Bourbon: 3.5/5 Flinders Island Peated Double Cask: 3.25/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Double Oak: 2.75/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Refill (Peated) Cask: 4/5

I probably should have started my Furneaux series here, the unpeated offerings; alas. Sawyers Bay is the product line dedicated to Furneaux unpeated expressions. Like the Flinders Island range, Sawyers Bay are 100% Tasmanian barely (pilsner malt) distilled in copper pot stills on Flinders Island. Supposedly the unseated expressions should highlight the smooth and sweet malt profile. (I hate the use of the word smooth, I’m annoyed already). The unseated expressions are expected to be one offs, with different casks at different times but a core theme that remains the same. In the glass now I have the Unseated Double Oak, UD02. This liquid was created from spirit matured for 3.5 years in two 100 l single casks blended post maturation; one French Oak ex Apera, and one American Oak ex-Bourbon (Heaven Hill). Only just released on the 26th of April 2024, 380 bottles were filled at 46.6% ABV. N: Bright, fresh, vibrant. Plenty of caramel and sweet candy. Juicy strawberries, honied malt, and a little clove spice. Sadly though, there is quite a bit of youth that comes across as slightly acrid baby vomit and raw spirit. P: Light and with a little oily-viscosity. Again, following the nose this is bright and juicy. The spices are warm, mouth filling and speak of clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Bright orange spritzes and strawberries and cream are front runners that blend quite well with brown sugar, a hint of chocolate and runny caramel. The profile is simple and expected but what is not expected is the mouth watering juiciness and slightly odd sherbet sensation that is fizzing at the edges of my tongue. F: Medium. A little astringent tannin, toasty malt, buttery-oak, orange juice and more red berry. This one was a quick and simple flash in the pan. A little rough around the edges (almost literally) but simple well delivered and clean flavours. Knock of the whiffs of ethanol youth and bring the ex-Bourbon vanillins and toasty malt characters forward and this would be a well balanced, and very expensive, dram. Distiller whisky taste #277 [Pictured here with a chunk of quartzite from Cradle Mountain in the northwest of the Tasmanian mainland. This rock was formed from the massive dolerite intrusions that form pretty much 3/4 of Tasmania pushing up through Cambrian (~500 million year old) sediments during the Jurassic and heating them, and recrystallising them into a hard metamorphic rock]. Furneaux Distillery Running Scores Flinders Island Peated American Oak Ex-Bourbon: 3.5/5 Flinders Island Peated Double Cask: 3.25/5 Sawyers Bay Unpeated Double Oak: 2.75/5

Following on from the entry into Tasmanian Furneaux Distillery and the Flinders Island Peated American Oak ex-Bourbon we move swiftly into a special ‘work in progress’ release. It has no official information or bottle as it is not yet ready for market. What I do know though is that its the same 100% Flinders Peated Tasmanian Pilsner Malt but this time around has seen maturation in both Bourbon and Sherry casks. Beyond that I am going in blind. Oh, one other thing, its a whopping 61.1% ABV. I am disappointed that despite there being a virtual tasting with the distiller for this set of Furneaux whiskies, the details on this dram were not provided even though for all other bottling there is plenty of detail available. Anyway… N: Rich and dark this has a powerful presence without being alcohol forward. Thick with dark jammy figs and red berries the sherry influence is hitting hard. Syrupy with a molasses type sweetness you have to work hard to dig below the sherry storm. There is a faint bitter mocha and perhaps a suggestion of mulchy vegetation and a nutty oiliness. After initial sips there is a mustiness that emerges. P: Heavy and slightly astringent. Initially dark and leathery syrup characteristics, a touch of crisp apple and then lashings of clove and nutmeg and a hint of cinnamon, mulled wintery fruits and a spritz of orange. Salinity and minerality are like a fading dream, but a glimmer of what they could be, I suspect that is the peat smoke. F: Medium. A slightly toasty honey, maybe? A little burnt bacon bits, oily lemon rind, embers and tar with final fading bitter dark chocolate. Crikey. Whilst not blowing my palate out with the high ABV or being aggressive for a young (3.5 years?) cask strength, this is an overwhelmingly powerful punch that is, to me at least, tight and dense. I have saved a paltry 10 ml and added a few drops of water. The nose does lighten slightly and reveal a little sawdusty wood and maybe a toasted coconut element, odd. I also think a non distinct perfume like characteristic is emerging, and it’s quite lovely. The palate is vastly improved by water and moves swiftly into Talisker territory again, or perhaps something Islay? Lemon rind, bbq, damp ashy smoke, and plenty of salt. The density drops off, syrup fades and more of the vanillin characteristics of the bourbon cask come through in toffee and caramel. The finish loses complexity and stays int he realms of toasty malt and bitter chocolate. This was more work than I was hoping for. I suspect there is a little tinkering to be done for the final release of this absolute monster. It needs to relax, it needs to be tamed and I am not deft of palate enough to get out of this what is seemingly intended. There is nothing abrasive or off-putting (other than the density and weight), but I don’t believe it is ready, or maybe more inwardly; maybe I’m not ready. Distiller whisky taste #276 [Pictured here with a Tasmanian classic, crocoite. This orange beauty is a rare lead-chromate mineral formed as a secondary replacement of ultramafic rocks. From the famous Adelaide Mine in Dundas, Tasmania and with a genesis dating back around 485-444 million years.] Furneaux Distillery Running Scores Flinders Island Peated American Oak Ex-Bourbon: 3.5/5 Flinders Island Peated Double Cask: 3.25/5

Been a little quiet lately with a house simultaneously filled by the sounds of a new baby and the silence of losing our dog. This evening though I have found a rarified hour to sit and contemplate the first two drams of a six dram series from Furneaux Distillery. “On an island off an island, where you can fly across the sounds or sail past treacherous craggy rocks, you find Furneaux Distillery. Our passion is to create a unique Peated Single Malt Whisky that speaks of its maritime environment. Through deep care and respect for our provenance, we want to bring the spirit, beauty, and ruggedness of Flinders Island to every bottle we distill. Flinders Island sits north east of Tasmania; a remote island in the Furneaux Group, a mere 62 km from top to bottom. Exposed on all sides to the wild and unpredictable elements of Bass Strait, it means living by the natural order of harsh contrasts. A sense of isolation that brings with it a can-do, rugged attitude that permeates the local psyche. Rugged, raw, real beauty.” For those interested there is a nice story telling element to the origin of these Furneaux liquids here: https://www.furneauxdistillery.com.au/about. I managed to bag a tasting pack when I saw one offered through a specialist group here in Australia; my interest stemming from Furneaux and their origin at my favourite Tasmanian whisky maker Launceston Distillery. Anyway… before the offspring wakes… This pour is from the third batch (FPB3) of Flinders Peated Single Malt distilled from 100% Flinders Peated Tasmanian Pilsner Malt. The distillate spent 3.5 Years in one single 100 l American Oak Ex Bourbon cask from the Tasmanian Cask Company. 180 Bottles were released in October 2023 at 47.9% ABV. N: This is lightness defined. Fresh, bright, and excruciatingly crisp. Soft and slightly sweet oak and wood shavings blend beautifully with juicy pears, allspice, fragrant citrus and lightest caramel. The peat is but a whisper, a grassy vegetal presence that hides a slight tar note if you are willing to search for it. P: A medium body with slightly astringent grip. The peat smoke is more apparent and adds vibrancy. Still vegetal but evolving to minerality and a wonderful hint of salinity. Caramel is thicker and slightly darker with a brown sugar crunch. An oily nuttiness shows through with a little gristiness to the underlying malt that carries more wood shavings with it. F: Medium-short. Juicy pear, grassy herbaceous smoke, warm tannic spice and mineral-earthy smoke. A strong first showing for this new distillery. Nothing too ambitious here, nothing stupid from the casking choices or pretentious, just a pretty well made whisky with an honest profile. The youth is evident here as not much depth has been pulled from the malt or cask, but what is here is clean and quite precise. I am actually reminded of a young and simple Talisker: salt, minerality, cooling smoke. Lacking of course though to be a Talisker would be the chilli catch and the promise of a brooding tempests embrace. Still, this is Australian maritime whisky and I think there is great promise if they take their time and don’t get to caught up in marketing… Distiller whisky taste #275 [Pictured here with a Tasmanian classic, crocoite. This orange beauty is a rare lead-chromate mineral formed as a secondary replacement of ultramafic rocks. From the famous Adelaide Mine in Dundas, Tasmania and with a genesis dating back around 485-444 million years.] Furneaux Distillery Running Scores Flinders Island Peated American Oak Ex-Bourbon: 3.5/5